Airborne monitoring of space weather and radioactivity

空间天气和放射性的机载监测

• 批准号: ST/K001965/1
• 负责人: Richard Harrison
• 金额: $ 5.16万
• 依托单位: University of Reading
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2012 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FK001965%2F1
• 关键词: Airborne; monitoring; space; weather; radioactivity

The sun emits high energy particles, some of which have the capacity - particularly during episodes of disturbed Space Weather - to cause damage to the natural and artificial world. In the natural world, as the particles enter the atmosphere, they release electric charge from the air, which it is thought may have an effect on ice and water clouds in the atmosphere. To investigate this effect, which may have a small effect on climate, measurements of the charges generated at the same levels in the atmosphere where the clouds form are needed. A cost-effective way of doing this is to use a weather balloon which has been specially equipped to detect the high energy particles, as such balloon-carried measurement system are released by meteorological services around the world regularly every day.This project will test out a new low cost approach to harnessing weather balloons for the high energy particle measurements, which will allow many new measurements to be made at little additional expense to that already invested in the weather balloon network. Some electronic systems are required for this which will be developed specially, but the method to be studied is so cheap as to be disposable as needed for a non-recoverable weather balloon. After the electronic circuits have been developed and tested using radioactivity available in a laboratory, a series of real test flights will be made. By choosing two locations at different latitudes, the effect of the earth's magnetic field on changing the energy of the particles which get down into the atmosphere can be used to test the new sensor. An additional aspect is that radioactivity in the atmosphere above the surface can also be measured simply with the same instrumentation: as these balloons can be released easily from different places, this provides a capability to respond to nuclear accidents and terrorism, in monitoring the dispersal of the hazardous material without the complication of a powered aircraft.In Russia an important measurement sequence of high energy atmospheric particles has been made using balloon systems since 1957, but, as the instruments become obsolete, this is not expected to be sustained within Russian science funding. By adapting the balloon measurement systems already used by meteorological services everyday, measurements of the high energy particles will be able to be continued cheaply, as well as providing the opportunity to monitor natural radioactivity for which there is an ever-heightened awareness.

太阳发射出高能粒子，其中一些粒子有能力对自然和人造世界造成损害，特别是在空间天气受到干扰的情况下。在自然界中，当颗粒进入大气层时，它们会从空气中释放电荷，人们认为这可能会对大气中的冰和水云产生影响。为了研究这种可能对气候影响很小的效应，需要测量云形成的大气中相同水平产生的电荷。一种经济高效的方法是使用专门装备来检测高能粒子的气象气球，因为世界各地的气象部门每天都会定期发布这种气球携带的测量系统。该项目将测试一种新的低成本方法，利用气象气球进行高能粒子测量，这将允许在气象气球网络已投资的基础上，以很少的额外费用进行许多新的测量。为此需要一些专门开发的电子系统，但所研究的方法非常便宜，可以根据不可回收的气象气球的需要而一次性使用。在开发电子电路并使用实验室可用的放射性进行测试后，将进行一系列真实的试飞。通过选择不同纬度的两个位置，地球磁场对进入大气中的粒子能量变化的影响可用于测试新传感器。另一个方面是，地表上方大气中的放射性也可以使用相同的仪器进行简单测量：由于这些气球可以轻松地从不同的地方释放，这提供了应对核事故和恐怖主义的能力，可以监测危险物质的扩散，而无需动力飞机的复杂化。在俄罗斯，自 1957 年以来，一直使用气球系统对高能大气粒子进行了重要的测量序列，但是，随着仪器的发展， 过时的，预计俄罗斯科学资助不会维持这种情况。通过采用气象部门日常使用的气球测量系统，高能粒子的测量将能够以较低的成本继续进行，并提供监测自然放射性的机会，人们对此的认识不断提高。

项目成果

Space weather influences on atmospheric electricity

• DOI: 10.1002/wea.2323
• 发表时间: 2014-09-01
• 期刊: WEATHER
• 影响因子: 1.9
• 作者: Nicoll, K. A.

Cosmic ray measurements in the atmosphere at several latitudes in October, 2014

2014年10月几个纬度大气层的宇宙射线测量

• DOI: 10.22323/1.236.0392
• 发表时间: 2016
• 作者: Makhmutov V

Vertical profile measurements of lower troposphere ionisation

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2014.08.006
• 发表时间: 2014-11
• 期刊: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics
• 影响因子: 1.9
• 作者: R. Harrison;K. Nicoll;K. Aplin

Electrical sensing of the dynamical structure of the planetary boundary layer

行星边界层动力学结构的电传感

• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2017.11.009
• 发表时间: 2018
• 期刊: Atmospheric Research
• 影响因子: 5.5
• 作者: Nicoll K

Note: Geiger tube coincidence counter for lower atmosphere radiosonde measurements.

注：盖革管符合计数器用于低层大气无线电探空仪测量。

• DOI: 10.1063/1.4815832
• 发表时间: 2013
• 期刊: The Review of scientific instruments
• 作者: Harrison RG